HOWTO: Buy A Humidifier

We were sitting here slathering ourselves with aloe when we noticed that Consumer Reports has a nifty article on how to buy a humidifier. Yippie! Along with a warning about small tabletop models:

Consumer Reports tests show that manufacturer claims can be a poor guide to how well a humidifier will work. Several small tabletop models fell well short of their claimed output and might not raise the humidity to the desired level.

The article gives advice about cleaning and maintenance as well as information about noise level, operating costs, and a comparison of the different types of humidifiers. Yay for moisture. —MEGHANN MARCO

I’ve owned the humidifier in the picture, as well as a couple similar variations. They all suck, outputting a heavy stream of mist that falls directly onto the floor and doesn’t really raise the air humidity at all. When it’s very dry, like in the winter, my nose starts bleeding while I sleep. A few years ago I started buying these “cool mist” humidifiers because a) they’re cheap and b) they’re all that was available at my local drug store. I wound up with a wet floor and a bloody nose nearly every morning. Now I have central air with a central humidifier and my nose couldn’t be happier.

I used to have a humidifier because of sinus issues during the dry months. I found it was a pain in the butt to clean the unit out often enough. And if I didn’t, it grew mold, which I’m allergic to, and basically misted the mold into the air in our bedroom. Bleah.

But never mind the humidifier: I crave that cat. It’s the cat I have always dreamed of owning. MEOW?

” “How to” is two words no matter what Boing Boing (or is it BOINGBOING?) tells you. “

I just finished reading an article about how journalists should punctuate and capitalize (no pun intended)names of companies.

Kerry, I used to have the same problem as a child. Bloody nose every night during winter. But instead of using a humidifier, my parents would take me to this doctor who would burn the inside of my nose somehow. It was very painful. Does anyone know of this practice? Cauterizing the nostrils. Maybe this was how my parents abused me as a child. *sniffle*

Holden Caulfield: My daughter had to have a blood vessel cauterized in her nose when she was only 6 or 7. She had constant nosebleeds — really bad, hemorrhaging ones. She is 16 now and still won’t go back to the ENT doc because the cauterizing hurt so much. (Poor kid!) She still gets nosebloods but manages them with saline sprays and lying down with tissues stuffed up her nose. They are nowhere near as bad as when she was young.

I have that same humidifier in the picture as well as an indoor weather station. On a day where the inside relative humidity is 25%, the unit will raise it to about 29% in a medium-sized room. It’s not much. I may try using a fan to aerate the mist better.

A few years ago we used to try boiling big pots of water, but that’s expensive. We also found that the relative humidity goes right back down again… presumably the dry air works its way into the house quickly.